The goal of this program is to provide rich research opportunities to a diverse population of college, graduate, dental, medical, postgraduate and combined DDS/PhD and MD/PhD) student; and to junior and mid-career faculty seeking new research initiatives. The training program that we are proposing capitalizes on the unique geographic proximity between major medical centers in the City of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. We have four major thematic areas of strength in clinical and basic research and have identified over fifty expert faculty who will provide mentoring for students and faculty in order to produce individuals who are likely to respond to the health-related challenges that face the field of dentistry in the future. Our thematic areas of expertise are Hard Tissue and Neoplastic Disease, Infectious and Antoimmune Diseases, Oral and Craniofacial Chronic Sensory Disorders, and Oral and Craniofacial Motor Disorders. Primary emphasis will be placed on cross-disciplinary approaches with emphasis on the integration of basic, translational and clinical research in each student program. Our major objective is to provide a horizontal organizational structure in which basic and clinical research opportunities are integrated across disciplines and a vertical organizational structure of career development and mentoring that spans from college students to mid-career faculty. We are committed to implementation of an organizational structure that enhances training opportunities for underrepresented minorities and women. A diverse student population at Howard University, the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and Morgan State University will have the opportunity to receive training in biomedical research. Almost all the faculty mentors have external research support and are appointed at the University of Maryland Dental School, University of Maryland Medical School, the Johns Hopkins University and the intramural program of the National Institutes of Health.